JOIN USAnimals too affected by floods
The recent floods in Kodagu not only wrecked the lives of humans in the area but also rendered scores of animals homeless and on the verge of starvation.
“We saw animals stranded in landlocked areas between overflowing rivers, pets tied up and locked inside abandoned houses, strays wandering in deserted areas, starving puppies...,” Rohan Appaiah, coordinator with CUPA, recounts. “A few dogs were dropped off at our camp by owners who had no way of looking after them,” he adds.
Rohan and a few other volunteers have been on the ground since day one, ensuring that animals too weather this storm. The members travelled anywhere between 50-80 km every day to rescue animals.
“Our operations were divided into three parts — relief and rescue, running a centre for small animals and running a centre for large animals. For the past few days, the relief work has stopped as the waters have receded. We have identified two routes where we drop off food for strays on alternate days.”
Apart from this, the team is taking care of 18 cows and 32 dogs in their shelter right now.
“We are also giving out large packets of dog, cattle and poultry feed to any owner who wants to go to his village and feed his animals. In the centre, we have vaccinated all the animals and have floated appeals for their adoption. If everything goes well, we will also look at sterilising them so that they are free of all issues before they go to their new homes,” says Suparna Ganguly, founder trustee CUPA and WRRC.
Pointing out how the floods brought forth the best in some, Suparna lists out a number of organisations, from different parts of the country, who came forward to help CUPA in its endeavours.
“We were supported by Humane Society International, who helped us on field, for 6-7 days. After they left, members from Animal Care Trust, Mangalore, pitched in. As of now, a young team of volunteers has come in from Mumbai Plant and Animal Welfare Society. So we have had a total of 25-30 volunteers from different organisations, working in shifts since August 18,” she says.
“It was a wonderful collaborative effort of many organisations, under the auspices of CUPA. We funded the efforts but people were generous with the manpower,” she says.
The locals too have been helpful. They made calls to animal rescue volunteers to talk about distressed animals and are now helping with the feeding of strays. “We are releasing healthy dogs back into areas where they were picked up from. We give the necessary food materials to the locals to feed these strays till they can support themselves,” says Anjali Cadambi, a volunteer.
“We are preparing for the long haul. Most of the pet animals cannot go back, there are no homes to go back to. As for the cattle, the villagers know we are holding them and they are quite happy about it,” says Suparna. She adds that the milk of the cows is being sold and the money is being collected to give to the rightful owner when they come to take back the cattle.